The present invention relates generally to thermally conductive adhesives for thermal interfaces in electronic packaging, and more particularly, to a polymer-based composite thermal interface material (“TIM”) with an inter-penetrating network (IPN) polymer matrix backbone designed to improve thermal conductivity.
The rapid technology advancements in high performance electronics packaging has focused on reduced size and higher operating speed. This has resulted in excessive heat generation during device operation. There is an accompanying need for effective heat dissipation methods to maintain the reliable functional performance of electronic assembly products. Commonly used methods of cooling include helium filled modules, solder thermal interfaces, thermal greases, elastomeric silicone gels, and thermoplastic polymers with thermally conductive fillers such as AlN, BN, or ZnO. These provide the thermal interface between two structures, such as a flip-chip, chip-on-chip, or package-on-package, to allow a path for heat dissipation from the high power density circuit devices during operation.